Area resident Lawrence F. Roberge is an associate professor of anatomy and physiology at Laboure College in Boston. Roberge recently published a paper on "Chikungunya Virus: Coming to America" in the Journal of Biosafety. (The Republican file photo)

With the temperatures on the rise and bugs like mosquitoes becoming more prevalent, local researcher Lawrence Roberge took a closer look into a new virus being detected in the U.S. called the chikungunya virus.

Roberge, a Western Massachusetts resident, is an associate professor at Laboure College in Milton. He has published his work called "Chikungunya Virus: Coming to America" in the Journal of Biosafety.

Despite being more common in warmer climates like the Caribbean, particularly the Dominican Republic and Haiti, there is growing evidence of the mosquito-borne virus in the United States.

“Some potential targets could be Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville and Miami,” Roberge said. He added, this is due to their “high populations and warm climates.”

Roberge talked about how Rhode Island, Boston, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina are a few places he's heard outbreaks have been detected and says there's "absolutely" mosquitoes carrying the disease in the U.S.

Cases have been reported in the media of people coming into the U.S carrying the virus, however, according to the Centers for Disease Control "no local transmission has been identified in the continental United States."

The virus is transmitted by mosquitoes when they have the disease in their salivary glands, meaning they will be infecting the next human they bite. However, Roberge said, due to the large distance between when a carrier (mosquito) bites, the mosquito is able to spread the disease.

He added, “diagnosis is not easy ... there is no vaccine present, no anti-viral known. It's just best to give fever reducing and anti-inflammatory drugs.”

It is important to be cautious because it could potentially be a devastating disease.

“The problem is someone may think it's a fever or something ... it takes three to five days before even showing any symptoms,” Roberge said.

Roberge said a big challenge is conveying that chikungunya is a serious threat, and referenced where mosquitoes are found, whether or not the carry they virus.

“The threat is everywhere ... standing water, urban settings ... It is going to be present more year-round in Southern states, but will have spikes in spring, summer, even fall in the Northern states,” Roberge said.

While Roberge doesn't want to alarm anyone, he does want to make sure people are prepared

“If we're prepared, we can best serve the population and help deal with this,” he said.

Some precautions to take include wearing long sleeves and pants, using repellent even during the day, and avoiding densely populated places with mosquitoes.